A Clairet Rosé & A Local Tasting

In the spirit of Independence Day I expressed my independence qua wine drinker by drinking an atypical wine: a Clairet Bordeaux rosé. Clairet style wines are from Bordeaux and are either dark roses (see picture, above) or light reds. (This rosé is available at the Wine Warehouse for under $10.) My notes are below:

2008 Château de Parenchère Bordeaux Clairet (France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Clairet; blend of Merlot, Cab Franc & Cab Sauvignon)

Nose: steel & minerals with lime zest, with bright red cherry & cranberry notes.
Taste: first the red fruit, then the steel. Medium mouth-feel for a rose.
Overall: Not a fruit-forward, sweet, new-world rose, therefore probably not immediately accessible to most people. But this wine definitely became more appealing after a few glasses and especially on day 2—it didn’t lose anything by day 2. Food friendly, e.g, BBQ, shrimp cocktail, etc.

Rating: 85

New Leaf Market Tasting (every Friday @ 5:30)

First off, you should know that the staff who work the wine tastings are very friendly and they offer “healthy” pours—be careful or you’ll be drunk by the end. The tasting crowd was friendly too.

Although the wines left weren’t spectacular, the top wine of the tasting was the 2005 Gravity Hills Syrah Base Camp (USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles). I also noticed that they carry the 2008 Muldurbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé (South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch). And for only $11 it’s a great value, so I picked one up—you should too!

Last, they also held a so-called “Parm cracking”—an 80 lb. wheel of Parmesan cheese that was aged for 2 years was cut open (pictured, below). They handed out free samples with warm olive oil bread—tasty!